Rose's Return
by catdammerj
Summary: Rose returns to check on her friends after two years. She discovers that life isn't the same without her.
1. Chapter 1

**_Okay, so this is a fan-fic about Rose returning to check on her friends. The first chapter is basically about her explaining everything and describing how she's changed. Hope you enjoy it, and review! Give me some tips, and if you see any errors, tell me._**

**_Sadly, I own nothing._**

I hate Russia. It's cold, windy, and everyone calls me Roza Hathaway. I wish that didn't bother me but it did. My real name is Rosemarie Hathaway, but everyone calls me Rose. Only one person called me Roza, and he's the reason I'm here. Dimitri. He was my mentor back at St. Vladimir's Academy, and we fell in love with each other. But he was captured during a Strigoi attack, and turned Strigoi himself. Am I getting ahead of myself? Maybe I should explain _what_ the Strigoi are.

There are two types of vampires in the world. The Moroi are live vampires. They are able to use magic, and never kill when they drink blood. That's what my best friend Lissa is, a Moroi. She's also the last living Dragomir, but I'll get to that soon. Anyways, the exact opposite of the Moroi are the Strigoi. They are dead vampires. The Strigoi have lost their humanity and their magic. They can't go out in the sun. And me? I'm half human and half Moroi; a damphir. We're the protectors of the Moroi, and we protect them from the Strigoi.

Lissa was supposed to be the one I protected. Since she's the last princess of her bloodline, she needed someone to keep her safe. We have a bond that formed after she brought me back from the dead. This means I can sense her feelings, and I can slip into her head (though not always when I want). When Dimitri was turned, however, I left my school, St. Vladimir's Academy, and went to kill him. The reason? I made a promise to him.

But I left almost a year ago. I left my old life behind. Even though I still check in on Lissa and all my old friends through our bond, I've had no contact with any of them. I don't want to. I just think that they wouldn't believe the changes that have happened. My hair, for one. I had cut it to the cut normally worn by guardians. It was easy, and I got some satisfaction out of it. I had promised I wouldn't cut it to Dimitri. One I didn't keep. Thinking of him sent a familiar pang through my heart, but I ignored it. It was overshadowed by the nauseous feeling that always occurred when Strigoi were near. I had been planning on going back, just to see how life was for my old friends. I was currently in the airport, so how could there be Strigoi. I walked over to a bathroom, and peered in. Two of them. I grabbed the silver stake, and slowly walked towards them. With their supersensitive hearing, the heard me.

"Hello, pretty girl," one of them said, staring at me with malice. I didn't give him time to continue though. I quickly lunged, but at the last second went for the other Strigoi. She didn't realize it, and practically fell on my stake. I quickly pulled it out and stared over at the other one.

"Not so pretty now, huh? Too bad for your partner," I taunted him, as we tested each other's defenses. Suddenly, he lunged, and gave me my opening, I brought my stake up, twisting it as it entered his heart. With a glance back, I exited. I needed to catch a plane.


	2. Chapter 2

**_I own nothing._**

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She looked happy. That was all I could think as I stared at Lissa. I was lucky. The day I had arrived back, she had chosen to go out on a shopping trip. Her two guardians followed her,  
along with Christian's. I saw Eddie as one of them, and I recognized the others as people from my old grade. Lisaa laughed, with her arm around Christian's. Apparently, they were still dating. But I couldn't think over this, because I heard a noise behind me. I turned around quickly, and almost staked Adrian Ivashkov in the heart. He was the one who had given me the money that had enabled me to go after Dimitri. For that, I was grateful. But I really wish I hadn't seen him. I had promised Adrian that I would give me a chance, because of his silly crush on me.

"Litte dhamphir, how are you? It's been so long. I can't believe that you cut your hair!" He said it in his normal teasing tone, but I saw real relief and happiness in his eyes at seeing me. I straightened up. "How was Russia?"

"You were checking in on me, I see. I guess I expected it," I said, before continuing. "Russia was cold. And no, I didn't find him. And again, no, I'm not back. I just wanted to see with my own two eyes that everything was all right," I finished, and stared at him, waiting for some witty response. I didn't expect the one he gave me. Adrian grabbed me in a hug, murmuring how glad he was to see me. That ended any witty comeback I would have had for him. I glanced behind him to see his guardians, trying to look like they weren't looking. I knew that this would be around the court's by tomorrow. Damn it. This meant that I would have to go see Lissa. And I'd hoped to just make sure she was ok.

"So you're going back then," he said it as a statement, not a question.

"I was going to stay for maybe a day or two, then go back. I'm not sure if I'm going to go to Russia, or go somewhere else, and look. I've been all over, but I keep going back to Russia." Why was I saying this? I knew that he had kept track of me through the bank accounts.

"Are you going to see Lissa?"

"I'll have to," I muttered, pointing at his guardians.

"Come on. I'll take you to her right now. I was actually supposed to meet her here. She's probably wondering where I am by now," he said.

"Okay, Adrian."

**_Hope you liked it!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Here's chapter 3. YAY! It's longer than the other two, so I hope you like it. Remember, no characters are mine!_**

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Adrian talked as he led me over to where Lissa was. I saw her open her mouth to say something to Christian and start talking. Suddenly, she looked over his shoulder, and saw me being led by Adrian. I wondered what I looked like to her. Sure, I could feel that she was shocked, happy, and angry. But I wondered what she thought about the changes that had happened to me in the last year. I knew I must have changed. My hair for one, but she knew me so well, she'd probably detect any changes in my personality. I knew I was more controlled and thoughtful, but a year of Strigoi would have done that to anyone.

"Rose?" The single word brought back memories of laughing before we prepared to sleep, of gossiping, of covering for each other. Thousands of memories all flooded before my vision for a second, and I knew I was getting them from both my mind and Lissa's. It was strange how our proximity seemed to strengthen the bond; though I supposed being apart had weakened it.

"Lissa," I answered, still not sure what her response would be. She ran up to me and threw her arms around me.

"Oh, Rose. I've missed you so much. How have you been? Your hair's different, but you still look like Rose." By this point, she was sobbing. I hugged her back, glad to be close to my best friend again. I had missed her so much. Again, the memories flooded before my eyes.

"Lissa, Lissa, it's okay," I tried comforting her. After a few minutes, she relaxed enough. Oh God, I'd had had no idea how much she missed me, or I her. But I was just back for a few days, right? Suddenly, the thought of leaving Lissa, even Adrian, behind seemed unbearable.

"Rose, earth to Rose," said Christian, breaking me out of my reverie. Oh, how I'd missed the annoying little twit. Strigoi aren't exactly known for making great jokes. "Lissa's saying something."

"Rose, you just have to come back with us. We're staying at the Royal Court, right next to Adrian, to be exact, and I'm going to college, and it's nice, and it's almost like being normal since the college is pretty loud," Lissa asserted, telling me much more about her life at Court.

"Liss, I'm not sure if I'd even be allowed in. I mean, technically, I'm not a guardian, I'm just a dhamphir. I probably have the rights of a blood whore, and how many of those have you seen around Court?" I didn't want to disappoint her, but she needed to know the truth. The Queen had never been a fan of mine, and I didn't see that changing any time soon.

"But at the Court, I'm Princess Vasilla Dragomir. I can get you in anywhere. I have quite a few friends at court who would be glad to help you."

Eddie, who had been silent, stepped forward. "Rose, come on, you're as much a guardian as anyone else. How many _molnija_ marks are due for you, anyways? 10? 20?"

"173, actually," I responded cooly, getting quite a few shocked looks. I'd been busy.

"You can't be serious," he said, still not recovered. "I've, I've never heard of anything like that. In only two years? How is that _possible?_"

"Eddie, the only thing I did was hunt Strigoi. I picked most of them off alone or in pairs. Though one time, I found a group of them. That was fun, though I saw pretty sore afterwards." My words were generating even more looks. I thought that I'd better shut up, and did just that.

"Well, that's our Rose. Always doing things she shouldn't," Christian interrupted, obviously trying to close everyone's mouths. I shot him a grateful look.

"Rose, did you find _him?_" Lissa asked, clearly hesitant, but also curious. My answer was curt.

"No."

"Then you're going back, aren't you?" she sobbed, her eyes swimming in tears. She collapsed into Christian's arms, who shot me a dirty look. So much for my gratefulness just a minute ago.

"Lissa, I'm…not sure. I mean, I don't want to leave again. I've missed everyone so much, but, I still need to find him and keep my promise."

"Please, please Rose, stay. Come on, you can finish your training and then you can be my guardian, just like you always imagined. And when you need to, you can go back to find him, just not now. Please, Rose, I've missed you so much!"She begged, and something broke inside me.

"Alright."

"You'll stay?"

"I'll stay."

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**_There you have it. Tell me what you think. Just press that white button with the green lettering. Or is it a green button with white lettering? Who knows, but PRESS IT!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Okay, so this chapter is a lot longer than my previous ones. I hope you like it! As before, I own nothing, except a little suprise later on..._**

The soft light filtered through the thin curtains, waking me up. Groaning, I turned over, and put my arms behind my head and stared at the ceiling. It had been three months since I'd returned to Lissa and my old life. I remembered the day I'd seen Headmistress Kirova again.

* * *

"Rosemarie Hathaway, it is nice to see you again," Kirova said, looking as if it was anything but. "I take it your adventure has ended. You've returned, I take it, for good now."

How did she know to use that exact tone to irritate me? "Yes, Headmistress Kirova," I said, using my most respectful tone. God, it was hard. "I'm back and ready to resume my guardian duties."

"And how do you propose that will happen? Don't you remember, you didn't graduate?" She seemed to be using a very mean tone. I couldn't believe her. She was the one who had been so shocked when I had announce my leaving.

"But I've returned, and assigning me to any Moroi could let me complete my field experience. Don't you remember when I first returned: guardians are in short supply, especially females."

"I don't believe I said that, Ms. Hathaway," That was a low blow. I couldn't believe she would remind me of Dimitri. She knew, at least she thought she did, that Dimitri and I had had a very close mentor-student relationship. She knew that I had gone after him.

"Please, I am begging you, let me complete my training and become a guardian." Control. Control. I was trying to use a neutral tone.

"Okay, Ms. Hathaway. It just so happens that someone has requested for you to complete your guardian training, someone with a lot of power."

I knew Lissa would come through for me.

As if reading my thoughts, Kirova spoke, "It wasn't Lissa."

"Then who was it?"

"Adrian Ivashkov."

* * *

I smiled as I thought about what my face looked like. I suppose I should have been grateful to Adrian; he had enabled me to complete my guardian training. After discussing the details to Kirova, I immediately went back to my room. I smiled, thinking that it was a good thing that Adrian had been at the Royal Court, and not at the school, or I may not have had anyone _to _protect. But I had acted as his guardian, and I had protected him, trying not to think about the first part of my field experience, when I had fought Dimitri. The smile disappeared from my face. Every day, I wanted to go after him, and try and find him again. But I had spent two years doing just that, and had found no trace of him. I still intended to find him, but he wouldn't have wanted me to destroy my entire life just for him.

Sighing, I motioned to get up, wincing. I had just had my last round of _molnija _marks applied. Since I had had so many that needed to be applied, they had had to have been done in rounds. I got up from the bed, and stood by the mirror. The marks filled my entire neck, and part of my back as well. I knew that I probably had the most marks for someone my age anywhere, but I didn't care. Each mark just reminded me of Dimitri. Each one represented a long healed injury, and a long-forgotten place. But I hadn't forgotten the disappointment that each Strigoi hadn't been Dimitri.

Glancing at the clock, I determined that I had another two hours before my guardian shift began. Since Adrian was located at the Royal Court, my guardian duties involved walking the perimeter, not specifically guarding him but the Court as a whole. However, since it was the Court and guardians certainly weren't in short supply, my shift was not long, and was only five days a week. I could spend my time off however I wanted. After showering, I headed down for breakfast. I then proceeded to go over to the station, where I had to clock in. I nodded at the guardian, but paused for a second. The guardian was new; I didn't recognize him. From what I could see of his back, he was a little taller than me, but very muscular. His hair was black.

"Excuse me, I need to sign in for my shift," I muttered, because he was blocking my way. He turned around, and I got a look at his face. I almost gasped. He had a scar along his left cheek, that looked like a bite mark. It reminded me very much of Tasha's face. And just like Tahsa, in a weird way the scar seemed to complete his face.

"Hello, you're Rosemarie Hathaway, aren't you?" he said. Absentmindedly, I noticed he had no accent. I scolded myself; I shouldn't be thinking about that. However, I also noticed that he was quite handsome. Then I remembered he had asked me a question.

"Yes, I am. How did you know?"

"Well, you're kind of a legend, the way you went off for two years on a Strigoi mission to find your old mentor and save him from being Strigoi. I heard that you've killed over one hundred Strigoi. And I could tell it was you, because everyone says that you're so beau-" At this, he seemed to pause. I wondered if he had been about to say beautiful.

"Well, I am _Rose_ Hathaway," I said, emphasizing the Rose "but who are you?"

"I'm Adam Erickson."

Surprised, I answered, "But you're a bit of a legend too." I'd heard of him; he had apparently killed quite a few Strigoi himself, though not as many as I had.

"Not as big of a one as you, but I suppose you could call me that. So, you're shift is next, I take it." I nodded. "Well, I suppose I better go. Good to meet you, Rose." With a good natured smile, he signed his name and walked out of the room. I signed in, and proceeded to begin to walk to the perimeter, all the while not realizing that I was smiling.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Yay, another chapter! I hope you like this one! I own nothing except Adam!_**

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I finished my shift without event, as was no surprise. This was the Court, after all; the Strigoi would be fools to attack her. I walked back to my room, thinking I would go see Lissa.

"Little dhamphir," Adrian said. I sighed. I was wondering when he was going to come and talk about the _deal _we had made before I left. I knew that I wasn't ready, but I suppose that he was. I wondered how I would get out of this. "I need to talk to you."

"Adrian, I know what you're going to say. I know I made a deal with you that I'd give you a chance after I got back, and I know that you've given me time but I still don't feel that I'm ready, but I promise that maybe eventually I could-"

"I've met someone else, little dhamphir," he said and for a second I thought he was joking, but his face said otherwise.

"You-you've what?" I responded, shocked.

"Her name is Amelia Conta."

"Oh, she's a royal? Well, I'm sure that your Aunt approves," I remarked, turning to leave, but unable to, since he caught my arm.

"Rose, you have to understand that I waited for you for almost two years. But I-I couldn't wait any longer. And Amelia has always been a friend of mine, and it just turned into something _more._"

"I'm happy for you Adrian. I really am. It probably wouldn't have worked with use anyway. It never has." I really meant this. I was genuinely happy that he had found someone who could give him everything that I couldn't, and probably never would be able to. But as he smiled and hugged me, I couldn't help but feel a pang of loneliness.

* * *

"Rose!" Lissa exclaimed, running towards me, with Christian following behind her. She gripped his hand in hers, and I couldn't help but feel a repeat of my earlier loneliness. I quickly shoved it aside however, because I could sense Lissa's feeling through the bond. Excitement and a bit of nervousness; this couldn't end well.

"We're going shopping!" I couldn't help but remember the day I had come back, on what was probably a similar trip. I didn't even realize that she was talking.

"….Christian as well. His guardian is coming, along with Eddie and my other guardian. Adrian and Amelia are also coming, they're bringing they're three guardians as well." I'd almost forgotten about Adrian's other guardian- she was a scarred older guardian named Annabelle. Sure, we had worked together on occasion, but in the Royal Court a single Moroi was rarely protected, the guardians guarding the whole premises. "So we're going in about an hour. But I talked to Annabelle, and she said the number of guardians we're bringing should be fine, so you're going as my friend, not Adrian's guardian!" I couldn't believe this; a chance to go out as a normal, well not human or dhamphir, but to have a break. Some part of me told me that I should be sad that I wouldn't be able to guard, but the other part told me that I was going shopping!

I quickly ran back to my room and threw on jeans and a black shirt; nothing special. I slathered on some moisturizer and dabbed my eyes with makeup, pulling my hair back in a ponytail. I threw on a pair of sandals that I didn't even know I had. I ran back to where Lissa was, and was shocked to see a whole group of people, before I sorted them out. There was Christian's guardian, Lissa's guardians- I smiled at Eddie- Adrian's other guardian, as well as Amelia's guardians. I felt a little awkward; I should be guarding my charge, not going shopping. But, as I had earlier, I pushed these feelings aside and smiled at Lissa. I was surprised to see Adam there. But I had forgotten, he was one of Amelia's guardians. Adrian and Amelia were talking quietly in a corner. The look on his face was something I had never expected to see on him; a look full of absolute love and admiring. There wasn't any teasing air, as there had always been with me. There was just pure, unadulterated love.

"Hello, Rose," he said, with a small smile and nod.

"Adam, hi! It's good to see you," I exclaimed, genuinely happy. Since our first meeting, he and I had seen each other several times in passing, and our encounters always made me smile.

"I see that you're going as a friend of Lissa's. I guess you think that we big, bad, strong guardians are enough to protect you," he teased, causing me to laugh quietly. My answer was cut off by the Lissa's announcement that we were leaving. We piled into two cars and started the 45 minute drive to the mall. Once again, I thought of the similarities between the time Dimitri and I had gone to the mall, when guarding Lissa.

"Well, Adam, am I going to see you go dress shopping in between guarding Amelia?" I prodded, using a teasing tone.

"You bet. My legs are probably better than yours," he countered. I had to put my hand over my mouth to prevent myself from bursting out in laughter.

* * *

"What about this one?" Lissa asked, for the one hundredth time. She had been looking at dresses all morning, for what occasion I didn't know.

"Lissa, what do you even _need_ a dress for?" I asked, slightly annoyed, but at the same time excited.

"Don't you know, Rose? There's a formal ball tomorrow night in honor of the Queen. I've been invited, and I don't have anything to wear. Now come on!" she finished, leading me to another rack of dresses, as I groaned theatrically.

After looking through an innumerable amount of dresses, Lissa finally decided on a silk, dark blue dress that had black accents. She had also gotten a pair of black heels, and a silver necklace. It was a very simple look, but with her fair coloring it looked elegant, even without her makeup and hair done. It was very late by the time we had exited the mall. Lissa had purchased many other items, but she seemed to be cradling the dress close to her, acting as if it was a trophy and not a purchase. I was laughing with her when suddenly a nauseous feeling hit me; I recognized it instantly. There were Strigoi here, and they were about to attack.

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**_Oooh, suspenseful! Let's see what happens. _**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Okay, so here's the sixth chapter. I don't think that it's my best chapter; it's pretty sad, but I hope you enjoy it! I own nothing except Adam!_**

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There were twelve Strigoi. I couldn't believe that we had so lost track of time that we hadn't even realized it was dark outside. However, we had assumed the Strigoi wouldn't risk it, since the sun had _just _set. We were wrong. I quickly withdrew a silver stake that I had hidden. It hadn't felt right going out without it, and I was right. With six guardians, plus me, we didn't really have a chance. I was worried about Lissa.

"Okay, if you turn the Dragomir over, we _might_ just let the rest of you go. Except for you, pretty dhamphir. Someone wants to see you, an old lover of yours," one Strigoi said, a particularly ugly one. He meant Dimitri! I couldn't believe that he was taunting me! I had to repeat _control, control, control _in my mind, but I didn't have to for long. Suddenly, the whole group of us started backing up, with the Moroi in the center. We were trying to get them back to the car, where we could more easily protect them. One of the Strigoi lunge for me, and I slid my stake under his ribs, pulling it out quickly. But I had broken the circle slightly, and quickly dashed back. I glanced at Adam quickly. His face was all seriousness, his scar adding to that. The other Stirogi suddenly all dashed forward, and the circle broke. Desperately hoping Lissa and Adrian would be ok, I threw myself into the fray. I was glad my sandals were old and broken in, so they were comfortable. I lost track of time, only knowing that I had to stay near both of _my _Moroi and protect them. Finally, the last Strigoi was dispatched by Adam. As he pulled out his stake, a terrible cry started.

Adrian was bent down, and for a second I thought he was injured. Then I saw that he was hunched over a body; Amelia's body. She was breathing, but just barely. I walked over to him, and nearly tripped over a body- Annabelle, my fellow guardian lay with her neck at an odd angle. I had to fight the memories of Mason lying in almost the same position. I quickly closed her eyes before going over to Adrian. I bent down and put around him, as the quite sobs racked his body, and Amelia stared up, not seeing anything. I saw Lissa bend down on the other side of Adrian, also trying to comfort him. I felt a brief sense of relief that she was safe. Christian came over as well, crouching next to us. All three of us were doing our best to comfort Adrian, but I knew it wouldn't be enough.

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Awww, poor Adrian.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Okay, so here is Chapter 7. Two chapter in one day; I'm feeling pretty good. Also, 19 reviews! I'm so happy! I can't believe people actually LIKE my story! I hope you like this story- it's definitely not as sad as the previous one, with a little suprise at the end that you've probably been expecting..._**

**_As always, only Adam is mine (muh ha ha ha ha)_**

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We headed back a somber group. Not only had we lost Adrian's other guardian, one of Lissa's guardians and one of Christian's had been killed. I thanked god that Eddie hadn't been hurt, since he was such a good friend to me. However, we had taken down twelve Strigoi' that was no small accomplishment. But it was overshadowed by the loss of three guardians and Amelia. We got back to the Court and were greeted by the guardian on shift, who looked shocked when we told him of the fight with the Strigoi. Throughout this, Adrian sat in the backseat, staring at nothing. I wondered if that was what I looked like, when I had first realized that Dimitri was gone. Or when I realized that Mason was dead. It was so odd the differences between them. One was completely dead; the other one a walking dead. It seemed that everyone I loved ended up dead.

"Rose, take Lissa, Christian, and Adrian back to their rooms. Adam, go with her," Christian's remaining guardian, Max, commanded me. I gestured for the three Moroi to follow me. Three. We had set out with four and returned with three. I could tell that Lissa and Christian were obviously completely oblivious to the logistics my fellow guardians were talking, and Adrian looked like he was completely oblivious to everything. Adam fell into step next to me, as we led them back to their rooms, which were almost right next to each other. No one said anything until we were almost to their rooms.

"Thank you for protecting us today, Rose and Adam," said Lissa, quietly showing the thankfulness and admiration that I could sense through the bond. And then Adam and I were alone.

"I can't believe you thought to bring a stake when you thought you were only going on a shopping trip. Always a guardian, huh?" he probed, using a joking tone but with seriousness behind his eyes.

"You know my story. My mentor got turned Strigoi and I went after him, because I felt I owed it to him. But I couldn't find him, only other Strigoi, so I settled for those. But in those two years, I saw how _strong _they were, and how _bloodthirsty _they are so I just, I always felt like I have to protect my Moroi plus every other one." I felt bad about lying to him, but he would never guess.

As if echoing my thoughts, he answered, "God, it must be so exhausting to lie all the time," he said, to my astonishment.

"I-I don-don't know what you mean…" I muttered, half-heartedly. How had he known?

Again, as if reading my thought, he answered. "I believe that you killed to Strigoi. I even believe that you went after your old mentor. But whenever you talk about him, you get this _look _in your eyes. I can tell that you were in love with him."

"But how you could you know that. No one but Lissa and Adrian have guessed, and they knew me really well. But you've known me for only a little while, and I'd like to think of us as friends but we're not _that _close." I hadn't realized that I was rambling.

"I know, Rose, because the same thing happened with me. I fell in love with the Moroi that I had been assigned to and one day they were turned into a Strigoi. I went after her, and-well you know the story of what happened to my face." I did. He had been found by the Strigoi who had been his Moroi. She had attacked him, and in the process disfigured his face. He had won, but not without a cost. I'd always wondered why Adam never talked about his past, and now I knew. I couldn't imagine what it was like to have killed the one you loved and then have to look at yourself everyday and be reminded of your past love.

"Oh, Adam, I'm so sorry. But why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"Because- because, Rose, I- I- because of this," at those words, he closed the distance between us, which I hadn't realized hadn't been very far, and kissed me. I found my hand stroking the scar he bore on his cheek, but, for once, not thinking of how things reminded me of Dimitri but only thinking of the man that I was kissing.

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Hope you liked it!


	8. Chapter 8

**_Okay, so this one is really short (even by my standards.) But I wanted to get this scene just right, and to have nothing to take away from it. It's all Rose and Adam, so I can almost imagine that I collaborated on a story with Richelle Mead (only in my dreams) Anyway, enjoy!_**

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It all fell into place after that. His lips, warm against mine, moved in perfect synchronization. It was a kiss that was laced with love and happiness. It was the kind of kiss that expressed more than words could probably ever express. I could somehow tell that he truly did feel for me, and that, I realized in that moment, I had feelings for him. It was like a slow blaze was burning inside me, threatening to explode into an inferno.

When we finally broke away, an infinite amount of time later, we stared into each other's eyes. For the first time, I noticed how Adam's green eyes had gold flecks in them.

"What's on your mind, Brownie?" he asked.

"Brownie, what type of name is that?" I probed teasingly.

"Well, I figured I need a nickname for you now. I can't exactly call you _Punch bag _or _Long Hair_ can I? They're not nearly cute enough!" he expressed with mock horror.

I chuckled. "Well, I'm not gonna call youGreenie with Golden Flecks, am I?"

"No, now that's not the most original name, Rose. You can do better. Well then again, this is you we're talking about. Yeah, on second thought, maybe that was a huge show of genius for you."

I punched him in the shoulder, maybe a little harder than I should have. I was glad to realize that our teasing hadn't ceased because of the kiss-holy crap, what had I just _done_? "Why did you kiss me, Adam?" I knew I must have sounded defensive, but I didn't care.

"Rose," he said with a sigh, "Remember the first day we met? How I almost called you beautiful, then turned as red. Well that was because I've been watching you for a while. I saw how you returned to your duty because you realized how your best friend, your sister needed you. I observed how you were brave enough to fight Strigoi to get the person you loved, who you had given up your life for. And then I saw you up close for the first time, and I realized that all those things made you beautiful, not your face or body, which I must say, are pretty beautiful themselves."

I stared in shock at him. He had felt this way about me? When I saw him, _I _thought of someone who was brave and selfless and beautiful because of their personality. But I couldn't believe he thought of me in that way for such a long time before we'd actually met. "Adam, I've thought of you the same way, since we've met. You're caring and you're strong. And I've always admired you for that. And I-I think that you're truly an amazing person."

He held out his hand for me, and I took it, lacing my fingers through his. We stared into each other's eyes, both seeing how we admired each other for their characteristics only we saw in each other. It was an absolutely perfect moment, until the screams started.

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I just love suspenseful endings, don't you?


	9. Chapter 9

**_Okay, so I'm a little sad. I got _no _reviews for Chapter 8. Yeah, I know it was short but it was cute and I liked it. So please, review! I'm asking, please!_**

**_Remember, I own nothing except Adam._**

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Adam and I raced back to the main hall where a large group of people were gathered.

"What's going on?" I asked to the nearest guardian, panting.

"Strigoi. The wards broke on the north line. One gorup's already gone out, we're next."

I turned to Adam. "We have to go get stakes. The Strigoi have broken the perimeter. Come on!" I gestured for him to follow me. We ran to weapons storage, which was very close, and grabbed two silver stakes. We raced back to find everyone leaving to go fight Strigoi. Adam joined the group, and I followed him. We didn't concern ourselves with keeping quiet, only with being as fast as possible. The entire time there, which was only about two minutes, I couldn't help thinking _this can't be happening, this can't be happening_. How had Strigoi gotten inside the Royal Court? It was even safer than the Academy- well the Academy had been penetrated. The Strigoi were apparently getting smarter, a thought that wasn't exactly comfortable. But I couldn't think anymore because we arrived at the site of the battle. My first thought was that I was back at the Academy; there were bodies strewn everywhere, both guardian and Strigoi. But we had an advantage the other group hadn't; we had brought Moroi with us. The fire-users quickly started to set Stirgoi on fire as we staked them. The water and air users distracted the Strigoi by smothering them. The first Strigoi I staked didn't even see me before it entered his ribs. The next few followed suit with him; I quickly dispatched them. However, six Strigoi later, I encountered some difficulty.

My stake entered just below a female Strigoi's ribs, and I turned around when I sensed a presence behind me. I meant to stake him as I turned but someone seemed to know my trick. I looked up for the first time and nearly stopped right there. It was Dimitri that I was fighting. I looked around quickly, almost wishing that another guardian would come so I didn't have to do this. What was I talking about, I had been waiting two years to do this!

"Hello, Rose. Good to see you, though I suppose I won't be for long," he said, with a sneer. I knew at that point that there was nothing left of Dimitri in there. Sure, it might have been his body, but the old Dimitri's face never would have had a look like that on it. I think that that was his mistake. Before he had said those words, I had hoped that some part of his soul might have remained inside his body. This might have given me pause. But now, I realized two things. First of all, his soul was gone. I was fighting a Strigoi with Dimitri's face, not Dimitri himself. I also realized that I didn't love him anymore. I had always thought that I would still love him when I finally saw him again, but I now realized I didn't. How could I? He was gone, and I- I loved Adam. I realized that too.

All of these thoughts filled my mind and we fought. It reminded me of the time during field experience when he had been "Strigoi." We tested each other's defenses, but didn't make any offensive moves. At least I didn't. He was always fast as a dhamphir, and as a Strigoi he was incredible. It was all I could do not to let him past my blocks. "Dimitri, it looks like life has been treating me much better than you. I mean, just think about-" I suddenly stopped, about to mention Adam. I didn't want to irritate him anymore, though without his soul he couldn't still fell anything for me. I quickly glanced over at Adam, to see him fighting a female Strigoi. For a Strigoi, she was quite beautiful. For a Strigoi.

"Oh, that Alexandra. Let's hope that guy wins. She's one the most powerful compulsion user in our group." Dimitri chuckled. "Then again, your boyfriend's holding up well."

"What did you just say?"

"Adam. He's your boyfriend, right? You didn't think that Strigoi didn't have spies inside the Court, did you?"

Damn it, I had been right; Strigoi were getting smarter. This wasn't good. "What's it to you?" I knew that was probably childish of me, but I didn't care.

"Well, my dear, Rosemarie, it's because-" He suddenly stopped, and titled his head. I thought I had an opening, and I lunged. He grabbed me, threw my stake down, and held me to his chest. It was almost like we were embracing, except his fangs were right next to my ear, "Because you'll always be mine." he finally said, and with that, slashed my cheek with his fangs puncturing just above my cheekbone. I looked over, and saw his teeth in _my _skin as they tore through it. I had thought I'd experienced pain before like this, but nothing in this concentration. He let me go, and I was surprised to discover that I didn't have the strength to stand. The last thing I heard was Dimitri shout, "It is done!" I saw through half closed eyes all the Strigoi suddenly dash out of the clearing. Then I blacked out.

* * *

I woke up who knows when later to the feeling of someone holding my hand. I tried to open my eyes, and found they were sticky and felt heavy. But I forced them open and stared at Adam. He was holding my hand but appeared to be asleep. I moaned a bit at feeling the pain in my throat, and he stirred. He opened his eyes and stared at me, as I stared back.

"Are you okay, Rose? I know it must be a shock for you but don't worry about it. Say something!" he commanded, nervous and worried. What was he so worried about? Sure, I'd gotten hurt but I didn't think that much.

"Water."

"Ohh, Rose. Sorry. Here." He said and handed a cup to me. I drank it gratefully and found the dry ache in my throat was gone.

"Adam, what happened? I blacked out because-because, why did I black out?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was fighting because the Strigoi attacked. What were they here for? Do you even know?"

"We think we do. The attack was last night. You've been out for four hours. We think the Strigoi were here for-well the Queen is dead. She was killed. And you, Rose, well you…" During this conversation, I became aware of a large bandage covering the right side of my face, starting right below my eye and stopping in the middle of my cheek. I wondered what was veering it. As Adam had always seemed to do, he spoke my thoughts.

"Rose, the reason you blacked out was because, well, you were fighting your old mentor, Dimitri. He attacked you and he- well- he tore your cheek up. Just like me."

I stared at him. What? I had- had been attacked and my _cheek _was torn up. I was going to have a scar? I wasn't normally shallow but I did know that my face was pretty beautiful. Now I would have a scar all along the right side of my face?

"You mean I'm going to have a _scar_? Why did this happen to me? I'm going to look so ugly!" I knew I must have sounded vain, but at this point I didn't care.

"Rose! You listen to me," Adam said, with an almost angry expression. "You could _never _be ugly. Not to me, not to anyone!"

"But why would you think that? I'm going to have a huge scar all along my face!" Once again, I knew that I was insulting his scar. I quickly tried to recover. "You're scar completes your face, but on me it'll make me look awful! What would make you think otherwise?"

"The fact that I love you, Rosemarie Hathaway." I would have thought he was joking, if it wasn't for the seriousness on his face and in his eyes. "Like I said the first time I kissed you. You're brave, strong, and beautiful."

I was distracted from the scar on my face for a moment. "I love you too, Adam Erickson. For the same reasons."

He leaned forward, and kissed me on the lips. Just like last time, I lips seemed to fit perfectly together. I didn't think about the fact that I'd just seen Dimitri or the fact that I now had a permanent scar on my face. Just like last time, I only thought of Adam.

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I hope you liked this one more. Review!


	10. Chapter 10

**_Okay, so here's Chapter 10. Honestly, I didn't think this story would be this long, but it just kept evolving. I didn't prewrite at all, so I honestly don't know where it's going to end up, but I hope it's good! Anyways, I've been trying to quench that voice inside my head that tells me 1 scene=1 chapter. I think I've been pretty successfull (so far!) because Ch. 9 was pretty long too! Enjoy, and please review!_**

My recovery didn't take long, but was still too long for me. I'd never really had any patience, but Adam had enough for both of us. He and I had both received six _molnija _marks from fighting in the attack. It was so strange how a few years ago, receiving that many marks at one time was unheard of. Now, with the Strigoi grouping up to fight battles, six was a common number of marks to receive. _Molnija _ceremonies were happening more and more often. It was not a comforting fact for anyone; the Strigoi were learning how to cooperate with each other.

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"Come on, Rose! Take the hair out of you face," Adam said. We were walking towards the coronation of the new ruler, since Tatiana had been killed. Oh, did I mention, the new ruler was Lissa? Tatiana had apparently not been expecting to die, and had left no will. Therefore, a Counsel had voted on who would become the new ruler of the Moroi. And they had chosen Vasila Dragomir. My best friend, my sister was about to become the ruler of the Moroi. Because of this, I was going out in public for one of the first times. It had been a month since the attack, and I still wasn't used to being stared at because of my scar. It wasn't particularly grizzly, but still covered most my right cheekbone. It would never heal completely; I would always have it. I was wearing a simple grey dress that fell above my knee. It was very modest. It was Lissa's day though; she should be the center of attention, not someone's dress. As Adam and I sat down in the front row of a great number of seats, I immediately noticed the stares. Many people had not seen me since the attack and had heard only rumors of the damage to my face. But I ignored the whispers and they soon ended as Lissa walked in. She was wearing a dark blue dress that suited her coloring perfectly. She was dripping with diamonds, but not in a bragging way. It was in a way that showed her power over so much now. She looked strong, beautiful, and fierce. Through the bond, I felt her feelings of determination and pride. At that moment, as she walked towards the platform where she would be named Queen, she _looked _like a Queen. I was so proud of her. I'd always been protective of her, but- and it sounds cheesy- she'd finally grown up. She stepped onto the platform and sat down. Behind her, a woman stood.

"Vasila Dragomir, do you accept the challenge of ruling over the Moroi?"

"I do." She answered, with a fierce expression.

"Do you swear to preserve the lives of our protectors, the dhamphir?"

At this, she stared at me. "I do."

"Do you swear to perform only actions of honor and truth?"

"I do."

"Vasila Dragomir, you must uphold the laws of our world, to keep us safe. We trust you to do this. Our faith is with you. Rise, _Queen_ Vasila Dragomir, the new ruler of the Moroi." As she rose, every person, dhamphir and Moroi, went on their knees and bowed to their new queen, I among them, bowed to our Queen- my Queen- my Lissa.

Afterwards, Lissa headed over to us. She had purposefully set it up that Adrian, Christian, Adam, and I all sat together, so she was able to go over to us. We all greeted her as Queen Dragomir.

"Oh, stop it. I'm still Lissa to all of you." She answered, a bit annoyed.

"But Lissa, you are someone different. You're Queen now." I answered back. It was true. "But you still are Lissa." I added. She hugged me and everyone else before going off to greet other people.

That night, a ball was held in Lissa's honor. I wore a dress that had been a gift from her; it was absolutely beautiful. One of its straps was lace, the rest of it was silk and had flowers on one side. I wore it with a pair of strappy black heels, and my hair up. I felt very confident for some reason and wore it completely away from my face. I used a smoky eye, but not a heavy one. Besides that, I put on a clear lip gloss. I walked out of my room and went to meet Adam in the lobby of the hotel where the ball was being held. I saw him before I he saw me. He was dressed in a black tuxedo that fit him perfectly. Then he saw me. Shock flitted across his face before being replaced with an expression of love. He walked forwards to me and without a word leaned forward and wrapped me in an embrace, kissing me passionately. I kissed him back eagerly.

"We better stop," he said in between kisses. "I don't want to mess up your makeup," he added, with a little smile. He then untangled himself- I hadn't even noticed we _were _tangled- and took my hand. We then proceeded to the ball.

Just like during her coronation, Lissa looked stunning. She wore a dark blue dress that had an eyehole and beading that just swept the floor. She looked every inch a new young Queen, with her dashing everywhere to greet everyone. Christian followed after her, surprisingly looking at ease. He was talking with a Moroi I didn't recognize, and didn't appear to be setting anyone on fire. Well, the night was young.

I honestly lost track of time during the entire ball. I must have danced for hours with Adam before Adrian asked for a dance.

"How are you doing, Adrian? Really?" I probed gently.

"I'm, uh, I'm fine," he said with a sigh. He had definitely changed since Amelia's death. He was no longer a womanizer and was no longer joking. However, he had picked up on the drinking and smoking. "I'm sober tonight, that's something."

"Oh, Adrian." I wanted to say something comforting, but the song was over. I quickly hugged him then walked over to the balcony leading outside. I didn't know where Adam was, but he would be fine. It put my supposed suffering into perspective. Sure, I had a scar on my face. But Adrian had lost the person he loved. She was gone, completely and wholly. I knew that when I had lost Dimitri nothing in the world could have caused me more pain. And he was still out there, so a small part of me would never be able to completely give him up. But Adrian could still love her, but accept that she was at peace, something I couldn't. And I had been worried about some damage to my _face_? But my reverie was interrupted by a moment that I probably shouldn't be witnessing. I slipped into Lissa's head, and for some reason couldn't get out. It was only difficult when I felt _really _intense feelings, and Lissa would not be doing something like that at a ball, would she?

"Lissa, you look so beautiful tonight," Christian said his expression full of love. If I hadn't seen him around her before, I never would have thought that sort of sappy expression could cross his face. And to my relief, they weren't in bed, they were in the garden, sitting on a bench by a fountain.

"Thanks, Christian. You're not looking too bad yourself," Lisssa replied, touching his face tenderly.

"Look, I brought you out here to ask you something. We've been together for two and a half years and I love you more than anything else. Will you, Lissa Dragomir, marry me?" Christian asked, his expression completely open. During this time, he had bent down on one knee and produced a box holding a ring. Just like Lissa, it was beautiful but not overly flashy or extravagant. Since I was in her head, I could feel the joy pulse through her and knew her answer before she said it.

"Yes. Yes, a million times, yes!" Lissa said, before kissing Christian as he slipped the ring on her finger. But this was their moment and I forced myself out of her head. Once back in my own, I turned around to see Adam.

"What were you doing? Just staring into space? I thought you had some sort of attention span, Rose, but I guess I was wrong." He teased, but before he could give another clever line, I kissed him. "Oh, what was I saying?" he asked a few minutes later.

With a little smile, I answered, "You were talking about how beautiful I looked tonight."

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Awww, for once I didn't leave the chapter off with a cliffhanger (though I guess that's kinda one, oh well)! I hope you liked it! Rose and Adam are so adorable, but we really haven't heard from Dimitri in a while, have we? (muh ha ha)


	11. Chapter 11

_**Okay, it's like 1:00 in the morning, and I just finished this chapter! It's all for you guys! I hope you like this one- I kinda feel like I have a lot of short little scenes in here. But the whole thing is long. YAY! So no more comments about it being short! Use that little green button for good instead of evil. **_

_**I haven't mentioned this before, but when I go into specifics about an outfit, that usually means it's an actually pice of clothing and is posted on my profile. There's a few things in her that I have up, including a certain white dress that I personally think is very pretty...**_

_**Only Adam is mine, and he says REVIEW!**_

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Somehow, Adam and I had ended up back in my room. Honestly, I didn't know how it had happened. We had kissed and teased each other for a while, and then walked a while. I guess our feet had led us here.

"What are you thinking about?" Adam asked, in between kisses as we lay on my bed.

"How you feet led us back here. I'm blaming my feet." I replied.

"Well, I'll have to send your feet a thank you note. Or perhaps flowers. Roses, maybe?" he teased, earning a smile from me. "Because your feet have just given me the most beautiful thing in the world." He finished, as he pulled my dress up and took it off. I knew I looked good. And Adam, well, he looked amazing. His shirt had been off for quite some time now, and I couldn't help but admire the perfect contours of his chest. I didn't deserve him. As if to prove my point, he spoke.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Rose?"

"Adam, I've only been with one other guy. I love you. I _need _you. Hell yeah, I'm ready." I answered, cementing it with a passionate kiss. That was all he needed. Our kisses become longer and more passionate, if that was possible. I stared into his eyes, and conveyed my feelings of love to him. I saw that he understood and answered back silently with a look that said the same.

I didn't know what time it was when it was over, and I didn't care. I snuggled up next to his side, and we both stared at each other for the longest moment.

"That was amazing." I finally said, breaking the silence.

"You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen, my Rose. I don't deserve you." At this, I giggled. "What, what is it? Come on!"

"I was just thinking the same thing about you, Adam Erickson."

"Well, Rosemarie Hathaway," he said with mock formality, which was hard to pull off, considering the position we were currently in, "I expressed my words first, therefore, they are mine. Copyright 2009, Adam Erickson productions." he added, causing another round of giggles but also a punch to the arm. We continued to banter for a little while, before we fell asleep, still in each other's arms.

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The light of the next morning woke us both up. As I opened my eyes, I found Adam staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just, you drool in your sleep." he answered. "Don't get me wrong, it's really cute and endearing."

I ignored the last part and got up, trying to look annoyed. It failed. I burst into laughter, which he joined in on. But our laughter was interrupted by a knock on our door. I quickly put on a robe and answered it.

"Ms. Hatahway, you are requested to attend a luncheon being held in the Queen's private rooms. Mr. Erickson," up until this point, the courier had spoken with a formal tone, but cracked a small smile when he spoke to Adam. "You are also requested. It will be in an hour." With that, he left.

"Well, Rose, I guess I'd better go get dressed. Unless I should just go like this." Adam said with a smile before leaving in his rumpled tux from last night. I went to the bathroom to shower and blow dry my hair. I sorted through my closet. Well, what had been my closet. Lissa, using some of her new influence, had apparently decided I needed a new wardrobe. I didn't even know when she had had it revitalized, but I couldn't find anything I had ever seen before. I eventually grabbed a green dress with a black belt. It had a scoop neckline with some gold around it. I didn't even want to think about how much it cost. I wore my hair down and applied light makeup. I grabbed a pair of black heels and started to walk over to Adam's room, which was only a floor above mine in the dhamphir building. I expected to find him waiting for me, but instead was greeted by a closed door.

"Come on, Adam. I thought girls were supposed to take _longer _than guys to get ready." I said as I knocked on his door.

"Sheesh, I can't help it if I have to primp!" he answered, as he opened the door. He wore khaki pants and a collared shirt, a look that casual and formal at the same time. "Oh, you look nice, Rose. Now, shall we go?" Adam held out his arm, and I took it. We arrived at the "Queen's" rooms and were greeted by Christian. He had a huge smile on his face and was dressed similarly to Adam, in a collared shirt and khakis. He led us out to a beautiful little balcony where Lissa and Adrian sat, laughing quietly. It was such a change in Chirstian that he wasn't jealous; he had used to always think that Adrian was after Lissa. Lissa once again looked every inch a royal. She wore a simple white shift dress that looked perfect on her thin frame and lace heels. Her makeup, like mine, was light. She was eating a fruit salad before she looked up and threw us a dazzling smile.

"Hey, Rose, Adam. Come on, sit, have a little food." I looked beyond her and saw a whole buffet of stuff for us to eat.

"Yeah, Rose, you probably haven't had anything to eat _all _night. Too busy, huh?" Christian asked, about to go on. He stopped, however, when I threw him a look that could have wilted flowers. Adam chuckled and led me away to the buffet _before_ I threw a plate at Christian.

"He's right. I'm starved. But it was worth it." He said seriously, once we were out of earshot of everyone. I briefly kissed him and caressed his cheek tenderly before going to get myself a plate of food. I was just like him, hungry. We sat down and began to talk and laugh with each other. It was just like old times. Except that now Lissa was Queen. And Adam was here.

"So, um, everybody, we have some news." Lissa said. Through the bond, I felt feelings of nerves, but also ecstatic happiness. I knew she was about to announce her engagement. She moved her left hand to show everyone. I hadn't even noticed how she'd kept it hidden the entire time. We all congratulated her, as soon as we realized what it meant. She came over to me last, and hugged me.

"I'm so happy that you're happy, Liss." I said.

"Rose, thanks. I'm just, I'm just smiling. I know that I now have duties as Queen, but my life it seems to be perfect now. And you're happy too. You have no idea how much that means to me. So first I'll get married. It's you next, huh?" She finished, throwing a meaningful look at Adam, who was talking with Christian and Adrian. "He _get's _you. I'm your best friend, your sister, but I know there's certain things I may never understand that both of you do." I didn't realize that I was tearing up during her speech. I wasn't normally this emotional.

"Liss, you are my sister. I'm just so happy for you, and, believe it or not, Christian. Just don't turn into a bridezilla on me, okay? You're already ruling as Queen, you don't need to be the Queen Bridezilla." She smiled, before hugging me again. The hug said how close we were, through all the tests we had gone through, and how we always would be. We each went back to sit in our seats and finish our meal.

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About a month later, Lissa's wedding was held. I had to admire the Moroi wedding planners; it had gone quickly and smoothly. Lissa had looked calm and never frazzled. She walked down the aisle the day of looking sure and happy. Her dress was a mermaid gown shape and had beading all over the skirt and on the bodice. It had a train. The wedding wasn't overly extravagant, and was intimate for the Queen. As she walked towards Christian, I saw how much he truly loved her in his expression. I think I warmed up to him considerably in that moment. The vows passed in a blur and I didn't realize I was crying until Adam gently brushed the tears away. I turned to look at him, and as Lissa and Christian leaned forward to kiss, I followed their motion.

The reception was held at the Court, in a large ballroom. Lissa had changed into necklace with ruffling on the bodice and end of the skirt. She and Christian took to the floor for their first dance, and we all watched on. Soon, Adam led me out to a slow song, where I put my head on his shoulder. He rested his chin on the top of my head, and we swayed gently.

"I love you, Rose Hathaway." He had said it once before, but that was in the heat of the moment. Afterwards, I had thought he had regretted saying it, but in this kind of setting, it would be hard to not believe his sincerity.

"I love you too." I answered, staring up at him. I didn't deserve him. He was too beautiful and perfect for anyone to deserve. And I had gotten lucky enough to have him. We kissed, tenderly, and then started to dance again.

* * *

A little while later, I caught up with Christian for a dance. Since Lissa and I were practically sister's, she was dancing with Adam. I could see she was saying something, but I didn't really want to know.

"Christian, you better take care of Lissa." I said.

"I know, or the great and powerful Rose will smite me." He answered. Always making jokes. "Seriously, thought, you know that I do love her Rose. You're like her sister, and I know you'll kick my ass if I ever hurt her, but don't worry, I never would. She's the best thing that ever happened to me."

For a second, I just stared. He really loved her; I had all the proof I needed now. Then I snapped back into my teasing tone. "Whoah, Christian, better watch out. You're getting all sappy. Next you'll start knitting."

"Shut up."

"Acknowledged."

* * *

It was late by the time I returned to my room. So the next morning, when I woke up, I discovered I had a pounding headache. I rolled over to go back to sleep before remembering I had duty. I could probably pull some strings and get out of it, but I didn't want to become one of those lazy people. So I got up, and quickly showered, not even bothering to dry my hair. It was warm outside, it would dry quickly. I nodded to the guardian on duty, who I knew vaguely. His name was Steven or Sam or something like that. I grabbed a sliver stake, something I didn't really need. Oh, how wrong I would be.

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I love suspenseful endings! I love suspenseful endings! Who loves suspensful endings? ME!!!!!!


	12. Chapter 12

**_Okay, so here's Chapter 12. As I said on my profile, part of it is in Adam's perspective. YAY! It was really weird for me to be him (don't ask, that's how I write) but I think it turned out really nicely or else I would have been describing blackness for a while. Ooops, I'm giving away too much. You'd better read this chapter to find out! Okay, so here it is, Chapter 12. _**

**_As always, I own nothing, except Adam._**

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The patrol started off pretty normally. I walked the perimeter two times and was preparing to walk my third when the nauseous feeling hit me. I immediately knew there were Strigoi here. Again. I radioed in my coordinates and told them of the Strigoi. They didn't question me. I gripped the silver stake in my hand, glad for its smooth coolness. It was a comforting feeling, probably the most comforting I could get during this. The first three Strigoi suddenly darted in. Oh god, how was I going to do this? Three Strigoi against me; I didn't really have a chance. I thought of Adam, Lissa, Adrian, even Christian as I started to battle the three Strigoi. My only hope was to prolong the fight long enough for reinforcements to come. However, I soon realized that I probably wouldn't live long enough for that. My back was to a grove of trees, trying to defend my position. I was filthy from falling down at one point, and my hair was starting to come out of its ponytail. I had a slash across my left shoulder. Thank God I was right handed, or that might have finished me right there. I fought without realizing how much time had passed. I knew it was probably only about five minutes, but it felt like five hours. I had managed to kill one of the Strigoi, but the other two were barely scratched. Then I made a fatal mistake. I thought that maybe I could back up to where I knew reinforcements would come and therefore be safe. So I moved away from my protective trees, still watching my back. Suddenly, I felt two arms grab me around the neck. _This is it. Goodbye, Adam. I love you. _I thought, and then- nothing. Sure, the hands were still around my neck, but they weren't snapping my neck. I turned around fractionally, and stared at Dimitri. He had a look on his face of pure malice.

"Roza, good to see you."

"Wish I could say the same," I spat back at him.

"You should have learned some respect by now." As he was saying this, I saw Adam break through the trees. His mouth opened in shock as he saw Dimitri's hands around my neck. "Stay there, lover boy. Unless you want to see her pretty little neck broken." At these words, he made a gesture with my hands that would have broken my neck if it hadn't been for the way he executed it. I saw all the guardians tense.

"Now, here's the deal. You're all going to back up to the edge of the trees, and you're going to let us go on our merry way with Rose." I tried to nod towards Adam. I knew that he understood, because his eyes hardened as he examined the situation. He and I both knew if we didn't give them what they wanted, I'd be dead in about five seconds.

"Okay, everyone, back up!" Adam ordered, in a resigned tone. I stared at him, trying to communicate my feelings of love through my eyes. I knew that he understood, and gave me a look that said, very clearly, _be strong. _That was all we could say because Dimitri started to back up, with me still being held. Once we were out of the view of the guardians, he let go of me. For a second, I thought he was letting me go. Then I understood. He grabbed my arms and put them behind my back, still leading me on to some sort of destination. Each of the Strigoi started to gradually pick up the pace. I noticed that the night had gotten lighter; it would be dawn soon. Dimitri cursed under his breath, in Russian, and grabbed me. I flinched away from him, but he didn't give me any room to wiggle out. He held me against his chest and started to run along with the rest of the Strigoi. But they had made a mistake. I had hidden another stake in my boot, and he hadn't had time to check for weapons on my body. I made it look like I was just being juggled as he ran and my hand slowly drifted towards my boot. Suddenly, he jumped, and I made my hand look like it had been jolted. I grabbed the silver stake and pulled it out. He had seen with his Strigoi eyes, and immediately tried to grab it from me. But I raked it against his arm, and he dropped me. I braced myself for the impact, but falling on your ass in the forest _hurts. _I rolled over, ignoring the pain in my shoulder form the earlier injury and the pain in my side from where I'd landed on a rock. I immediately staked one of his companions. The other Strigoi were ahead of us by a good distance. They motioned to go back to kill me, but the first rays of sun shot through the sky at that moment. They turned and left Dimitri for dead. In that moment, I knew that Dimitri and every other Strigoi had no ounce of humanity left. That gave me the strength to start fighting again. We parried, blocked, and tested each other's defenses. Suddenly, he kicked me in the my ribs, and I gasped, feeling a pain in my side. I think he'd broken one of my ribs. He then pushed my face against a tree. But that move gave me an opening. I raked the stake along his face, going numb to the pain of all my injuries. I felt blood on my face, and realized that the left side of my face had been scraped. Dimitri was bleeding from the gash in his face, as well as a few other cuts I had gotten in with my stake. He was also favoring one of his legs, because I had kicked him in the hip. I knew that I couldn't go on much longer and neither could he. One of us had to end this. And I did. He lunged for me and made a classic mistake. He reached his arm up to grab me and I slipped under his defenses. A taller person wouldn't have been able to do it, but he had, after all, taught me to use my shortness. My stake slid in between his ribs. It wasn't perfect execution though, and I could tell it would take him a few moments to die. I grabbed him and let him lean against me as he buckled.

"T-T-Thank you," he breathed. I knew it must have cost him so much strength, but he reached his arm up to put his hand on my cheek. "Be happy, Roza." And with those words, his hand dropped, and the eyes of Dimitri Belikov, the first man I had loved, the man who had taught me so much, stared up at me, seeing nothing. The blackness that I had been fighting the entire time started to encroach on my vision and I lay down, closing my eyes.

* * *

**Adam's POV**

It was a nightmare to see him holding her around the neck and knowing I could do nothing. And then seeing her be willing to go with those, those _monsters _just so no other guardians would get hurt. And the way Rose told me she loved me just through her eyes. It was my worst nightmare to see them back out of the clearing. As soon as we knew they were out of earshot, we raced after them. I knew it was pointless though. If we strayed into the Strigoi's earshot, they could easily kill Rose. But we kept our pace until we came into a clearing where three bodies lay. One was separated from the other two, and was a Strigoi. He had been staked, but had no other injuries. That was my Rose, catching them by surprise. The other Strigoi was a completely different story. He had numerous wounds that I recognized as being inflicted by a silver stake. The final injury was the unmistakable mark of being staked. I realized that he was Rose's old mentor, the man she had left to kill, just like me and Celine. Thoughts of her sent a familiar tingle to my scar.

But I didn't spare a thought for my past love as I stared at where Rose was lying. Oh God, she looked like she'd been through a war zone. A gash led along her left shoulder that I realized had been inflicted back in the beginning. Her face, her beautiful face looked like it had been sandpaper off on the left side. The bottom of her shirt had been ripped off, and a saw a large bruise blooming all over the lower part of her left side. From her breathing, I could tell that she had a broken rib, but it had perforated her lung. It was a wonder she was still alive. She had to have an amazing will to live. I gently picked her up, but knew by the whimper of pain that she uttered that it still caused her pain.

"We're going back. Come on!" I ordered, not looking behind me to see if the other dhamphir guardians followed. I murmured to Rose, telling her how brave she had been and how much I loved her. A wave or relief came over me when I saw the Court come into view. We were greeted by a woman from the infirmary, who had a stretcher waiting for Rose. As I set her down, I hear her sharp intake of breath as she took in all her injuries. I knew what the Moroi must have thought, but I dismissed it. No, Rose couldn't die. She was too good, too brave, and too perfect for something like that. Two Moroi grabbed the stretcher and raced her to the conveniently located infirmary. They took her into surgery right away, and I was left with nothing to do but stare at a blank wall. I flipped through a magazine from a year ago, but didn't absorb a single word. How much time had passed? One hour? Three? Six? I didn't know. But my wait was interrupted by the arrival of Lissa, Christian, and Adrian. Id' come to be like all of them in the time I'd spent with them and Rose. We all sat in silence, waiting for some news of Rose. Good or bad, we didn't care. Finally, an older looking Moroi woman came out of two white double doors. She was dressed in scrubs and looked exhausted.

"The surgery went well. She had a collapsed lung, two broken ribs, the muscles in her left arm were partially severed, and the left side of her face has been, well, there wasn't much skin left. But we were able to repair all of her life threatening injuries, and she's in recovery right now." Lissa came forward and hugged her, and Christian and Adrian both shot her looks of relief and gratefulness. I went up to her and quietly thanked her, before going back to my seat. Rose was fine, for the most part. Thank God. Thank God. Thank God. I worried about her face though. She had been so affected by the scar the first time, even though it had made her even more beautiful. It showed the world her bravery and her determination. But my thought were interrupted by another doctor, this time an average looking male Moroi.

"You can come in and see her now. She's still groggy but waking up. Come one." He gestured at us, and we all got up and followed him. When I saw Rose, I almost sank to my knees in relief. She had color back in her face and I could tell her breathing wasn't labored anymore. She almost looks like her old self, except for the bandage covering one side of her face and the hospital gown. I'd come to know Rose well enough to tell that if she was awake, she would have kicked the person's ass who put her in that. As if reading my thoughts, as she so often did, she opened her eyes. I hadn't realized I'd walked forward and was now sitting on a chair and holding her hand. My Rose, my beautiful Rose, stared at me with love in her eyes. I leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. She still smelled like Rose. I could see her put on a little smile as I kissed her, and in that moment I knew it would be all right.

* * *

Her recovery, as it turned out, took almost five months. She had sustained many injuries during the fight, and they all took a long time to heal. But the entire time, I stayed by her side, and, if possible, grew to love her more. She was so strong and so determined to be healed and come back as a guardian. A lesser guardian may have given up and just accepted life as not being a guardian, but not Rose. She performed all her physical therapy diligently, and healed much faster than the doctor's expected, though I could tell not fast enough for her. But she did get better, and that was what was important. The day she was released from the hospital, the expression on her face was priceless. She looked like she'd gotten out of prison.

"Glad to be out of there, Rose?" I teased, as we walked in the garden later that day. I was incredibly nervous, but I didn't let it show. We were walking towards a large fountain in the very center of the garden.

"You have no idea. It was like a-"

"Prison?"

"How do you do that? Read my mind like that I mean."

"Hmm, I don't know, but let me guess what your next thought will be." Here it is, the big cheesy moment.

"What?"

"Yes." I said, as I bent down, pulling out a velvet box in the process. I had slaved over picking out a ring for Rose, and eventually picked out a three stone ring. The price had been insane, but it was worth it for Rose. She was just staring at the box, her mouth actually hanging open. In any other situation, it would have been funny. In any other situation. "Rose?" I asked, hesitantly. I should have known there was no hope. She was too good for me- I had always known it.

Finally, her eyes left the box to look into mine. "I guess we're going to have to open a booth for you. Adam's Mind Reading." She said, with a little smile.

"So does that mean you'll marry me."

"You're an idiot, you know. Can't you just pick it out of my head?" She teased, throwing me a brilliant smile.

"But I want you to say it." At this point, we both knew she was saying yes, but in typical Rose fashion, she had to tease me some.

With a devilish smile, she stood up on the edge of the fountain. "Make me." Almost before the words were out of her mouth, I had jumped up next to her and pulled her into the fountain. She came out of the water dripping wet and laughing hysterically.

"So?" I asked impatiently.

"Yes, I'll marry you." She said. With a smile, I pulled her back down and started to kiss her, slipping the ring onto her finger.

**_

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Awww. The picture of the ring is up on my profile, along with many other clothing garments!


	13. Epilogue

**_Here it is. The last chapter. Gulp. It's been awesome getting to know Adam and getting to explore Rose's feelings on everything. This entire last chapter basically ties up loose ends, and is pretty fluffy. A lot of lovey-dovey stuff. It has almost everyone in it though. Jeez, this is sad. This story was my first fan fic that wasn't a one-shot. It's like my baby! And now it's getting married (well Rose is, but you get the point!) I'm not sure what I'm gonna do next. I may do my version of Blood Promise, because I want to get it out before the book comes out. Or, I may do something for the Hunger Games. _**

**_To every single person who's read my little story and reviewed, thank you. To those who didn't, thanks for taking the time to read it, but I really want to hear your opinions. So go back and type a few sentences!_**

**_I own nothing, except Adam. Well, I share him with Rose..._**

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It was a hot day. As I woke up, groaning, I nearly rolled onto Adam. I still wasn't used to him sleeping with me. No, not that kind of sleeping. The kind where you close your eyes and your brain partially shuts down. Though there _was _a lot of the other kind of sleeping. The laughing in my head cut out as I suddenly realized what today was. Today was my wedding day. Today I was Rose Hathaway, after today I'd be Mrs. Adam Erickson. Adam groaned, snapping me out of my reverie. Just like I had done, he nearly rolled onto me. But he stopped himself, and fell back on his back, snoring lightly. It was time to get him up. I slapped him in the stomach, gently, of course, but enough to wake him up.

"Whatz happening? I'm up. Five more minutes."

"Ugh, get up! Today you're marrying me. You better not be asleep during it."

"Well, I have been practicing snoring 'I do.'" He had apparently woken up.

"Isn't the groom not supposed to see the bride before the ending?" I asked, trying to get him out. I wanted a long shower. I wasn't completely opposed to having one with Adam, but Lissa would be here soon to torture me, I mean do my makeup and hair. It was eight o'clock in the morning, for Pete's sake. But she insisted that she start early.

"I think that's only in your dress. And let's hope you're not marrying me in that thing. Though it would probably make all of the guests happy." He swept his hand down my body, and I looked down. I was wearing a white nightgown that was honestly more lace than anything else.

"Including you, right?" I said, sultrily, as I rolled over so I was facing him. I put my hands around his neck and started too kiss him, slow and lazy, but building, building. Our kissing was interrupted by a knock sounding at the door. Then I heard Lissa's voice.

"Come on, Rose! Open up!" I gave Adam one last kiss, and went to open the door.

"Nice nightgown," she said, smirking.

"Shut up." I answered. Whatever retort she had was lost by Adam stretching and walking out the door.

"Well, ladies, I suppose I should go. Things to do, people to see, Rose to marry." He said with a wink. He pecked me on the lips, and hugged Lissa before finally exiting with an exaggerated bow. I rolled my eyes. As soon as he closed the door, Lissa turned on me, her eyes burning.

"Rose! Why is he here? The groom isn't supposed to see the bride before the wedding."

"So I've heard…" I mumbled, before going on. "Can I go shower now?"

"You mean you haven't even had a shower yet? What am I, a genie?"

"Yes, oh wonderful Genie Lissa. My first wish is that _I can go take a showe_r." She shoved me towards the bathroom. I quickly scrubbed myself down, knowing Lissa would be impatient. I came out to find her setting out makeup and hair products on a table

"So why haven't you showered yet? Normally, you're up by six." She asked, turning towards me.

"Late night."

"Do I want to know?"

"Probably not."

"Then sit down, and I shall work by genie powers," she finished with a little wave of her fingers. It was almost like she did have powers, because I immediately sat down. Even though I packed twice as much muscles as me, I had no doubt it would end badly for me if I didn't listen. She first did my hair, curling it but leaving it hanging down. She then did a light makeup, something that would make all my features stand out. She paused for a second, brush held over my cheek. My left cheek had healed but had needed skin transplants, so it didn't look completely natural. Lissa had managed to blend the foundation so well together that my left cheek looked almost normal. But there was nothing she could do for the bite marks of my right cheek. Those could never be hidden.

"Just leave them, Lissa. I'm used to them by now." I finally said, after she had shot me numerous looks of uncertainty. She finished the makeup, did hers, and finally, I stood up, stretching.

"Hey, don't mess up your hair," she ordered sharply from my closet, receiving both our dresses. I was having a small wedding, like really small, so she was my only bridesmaid, as well as my maid of honor. Adam had asked Adrian to be best man. I was surprised when he told me, since I hadn't even known they were friends. Adam had explained that he and Adrian had become really good friends after Adrian lost Amelia and Adam nearly lost me. We had brushed over that topic. I had felt guilty that Christian wasn't involved, but when I asked him if he wanted to take part he had said that the only job still open was ring boy, and he was a little tall for that. I had responded by saying he could always wear a matching dress to Lissa's, and be a bridesmaid. For some strange reason, he had rejected that idea.

"Is the bond working both ways now?" I asked, as she stripped me down, completely unabashed. We had grown up together. She handed me a slip to wear under the dress, and I put it on.

"No, I just know you, Rose Hathaway. Or should I say Mrs. Erickson!" I blushed, still not used to that name.

"Step in." She ordered, holding out my dress to me. It had delicate lace sleeves, a beautiful train, and beading along the bodice. The way it was cut made the top fall over the skirt. I absolutely loved it. Lissa's dress was a lilac color, and was strapless, with a cascade front. Months of dress shopping had taught me the names of every single part of a dress. I had one consolation; if being a guardian failed, I could always go work in a department store. I had flowers that were the exact color of her dress, coordinating everything. I glanced at the clock, and nearly dropped the flowers I was now holding. It was almost three o'clock, the time when the guests would start arriving. I was getting married in half an hour.

"Now do you see why I came here early?" Lissa asked. Suddenly, I felt a flare of emotion, and slipped into her mind momentarily. I saw myself. Could that really be me? I looked so pretty. The dress fit me perfectly and my makeup outlined all the best features of my face, even the scar. The necklace I wore fit into the collarbone of me neck and then dropped down. I had insisted on a veil that didn't cover my face, so I wore a small tiara, with the veil falling from the back of my head. I realized what the sudden emotion had been. Pride, joy, love, and admiration. Lissa saw her sister. The girl who had protected her from everything. _I'd hug her_, I thought, _but then I'd get a lecture on not destroying my dress. _Instead, I smiled at her.

"Now, let's go. I've got someplace that I kind of have to be." She walked in front of me, opening the door. I took a breath, and walked out of the door. We stepped into the elevator, where my mom was already waiting. I knew it wasn't conventional, but since I didn't know who my father was, she was the only parent I'd known. Just like Adam and Adrian, we'd grown closer in the past months. Janine Hathaway, fierce guardian, had been reduced to the level of answering Lissa's questions of what color garter I should wear.

"You look beautiful, Rose." She said, reaching out to touch my cheek.

Lissa turned sharply. "Hey, don't-"

"Mess up the makeup." My mom and I said in unison. My mom. I was glad I was finally able to say that. We smiled at each other as the elevator doors opened, and soft music drifted in. The Royal Court had a chapel that was connected to the living quarters. The entrance doors were almost closed, but through them I could see a small group of people I had only wanted my closest friends and family, as well as Adam's, and since I didn't have many, that had translated into only about thirty guests, most of which were Adam's. Still, that was enough to make me hyperventilate. Lissa heard, and turned to me.

"Rose, just think about this. Adam's there. Waiting for you. And it's only about thirty people. Think about my wedding- that had about two hundred." Her words calmed me down slightly, and I took deep breaths, calming down. Lissa, deciding I was finally calm, gave me instructions.

"Okay, I'll walk in first, and then you and Janine will follow me. Give me about ten seconds head start, and _try _not to rush. You may not want them to, but everyone wants to see you." And just like that, she opened the doors, and began to walk at a calm, rhythmic pace.

"Ready?" my mom asked, with a little smile. I nodded, putting a smile on my face as well. I was surprised to realize that it was genuine. I was excited. I couldn't wait to be married to Adam.

"Ready," I answered, and meant it. We started to walk forward, as the traditional music played. I glanced around at the people I loved, who were all gathered here. Eddie sat in a suit, and stared at me, with a bit of sadness. I knew this reminded him a bit of Mason, since we had been dating at the time of his death. But I smiled at him, and he smiled back. Next I saw Tasha Ozera, with a scar just like mine on her face. She also had a bit of sadness, remembering Dimitri perhaps. But just like Eddie, we both smiled at each other. Everyone here seemed to remind me of my past, and how far I'd come. But in a good way. My eyes flashed over my guardian friends, Adam's friends and family. More than half of the thirty people here were Adam's family. I saw his mom, and she smiled at me. I knew she probably wished that he was marrying someone he could have children with, but I also knew she didn't really care. And then finally, my eyes settled on Adam. He was staring at me with an expression so full of love that I nearly ran up to him right then and there. It was only my mother's arm that kept me from doing just that. We smiled at each other, and I walked at a normal pace, wondering who would kill me first if I had run up, Lissa or my mom. When I finally reached the spot where Adam was standing, I looked at him, trying to communicate how very much I loved him. He took my hands, and I saw that he understood. And then the preacher began the service. I knew I faded in and out, staring into Adams' eyes.

_Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of these two people. Each loves the other more than anything else. And today, we celebrate…_

_...Marriage is not something to be entered into slightly. It is a celebration of life and love and happiness, that binds two people together forever more. Rose and Adam have always…_

_...And now, I believe, you each have something to say?_

Adam went first. "Rose, you've always been the most beautiful thing in my life. Your bravery, your caring, your beauty all make you into the kind of person that anyone would be lucky to have. And I was just lucky enough to meet you, and love you, and now I get to marry you. Rosemarie Hathaway, I promise to love you, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or worse, forsaking all others, on the winning side of a fight or not, for bruised or for more bruised, and every other little thing I get to share with you. Do you swear to do the same?

"Yes." I said without thinking, then hearing the snickers, I added, "I mean, I do."

_Rose?_

"Adam, the first few times I met you, I honestly wasn't sure if I wanted to punch you or kiss you. You always have a joke ready for me, you always have a way to make me smile. You've stuck by me through everything, and I think that's covered the whole sickness and health thing right there. But I do, I do swear to love you, in future sickness and health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, for when I win the fights, for when you win the fights, and for when we call a tie. I swear that I will always to do that, because I love you. Do you swear to do the same?"

"I do." After those words, the rest of the ceremony passed in a blur. We exchanged rings. My ring had five small diamonds right next to each other. His was a band, both made out of white gold. I waited impatiently for the final words to be uttered.

_And so, by the power vested in me by the State of Pennsylvania, I now pronounce you man and wife- and may you not kill each other during fights. _

_You may now kiss the bride. Rose, don't tell me you don't know what to do for this one.  
_The priest said the last sentence to deaf ears though, because Adam and I were already locked in each other's arms, kissing a bit too passionately for public display. The clapping picked up as everyone stood up, and we broke apart. I saw Lissa and my mom sobbing and holding each other. I saw Tasha Ozera wipe a tear from her eyes. Adam's mom was dabbing at her eyes, trying to stop the flow of tears. All of these people, I loved them so much. The first arms that hugged me were Adrian's. I saw the tears freely flowing down his face, and I knew he was remembering his Amelia. I hugged him, making him understand I was always here for him. He understood, I could tell. Lissa and my mom were next; no longer caring if the ruined my dress, just trying to wrap their arms around me. Christian was after them, quietly saying, "What happened Rose? You actually messed up saying two words?" I knew that I was now married and should probably have acted more mature, but I stuck my tongue out at him, and he hugged me again. Christian stepped away to let Eddie in, who hugged me gently before passing me onto Tasha. She squeezed me and whispered in my ear, "he would have been so proud." She meant Dimitri. I knew that Tasha had known our true relationship, and we both hugged again before I was greeted by Adam's mom. So apparently his family bombardment had ended. The first time I'd looked over to him, he'd been buried under brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, and uncles. This time, I was able to meet his eyes, and we walked to each other. I took his hand, and we greeted the last few well wishers together. Our entire party then walked towards the hall where the reception was being held. Being the Queen had some perks, apparently, because this room was completely decked out, with everything matching the lilac color scheme exactly. Somehow, Lissa had even gotten lilac roses. I didn't even know they existed. I shot her a dirty look that she clearly understood, but just got a shrug as a response. After having dinner, which was the kind of small portion meal that cost a fortune, Adam pulled me onto the dance floor, where we swayed gently. Soon, other couples began to dance around us, but I only say Adam. Throughout the rest of the night, I danced with everyone else only thinking of Adam. After dancing with Christian, Adrian, Eddie, even my mom, I was exhausted. Looking at Adam, I could tell he felt the same. I sought out Lissa.

"Lissa, are we allowed to leave?" Normally, the bride would decide when to leave, but this was Lissa.

"Sure, car's outside. Just be nice and say goodbye to everyone." So we did. Adam and I briefly split up, to say out last goodbyes to everyone. My mom was the last one I said goodbye too, pulling me aside for a moment

"I know we haven't always had a great relationship, but I want to tell you something, Rose. I love you so much. And my entire life, I only did what I thought was best for you."

"I know that now, Mom. I honestly don't know what I would have done. And you did make sure I had a good education. I love you, Mom."

"I wish I'd been there _more_. I feel you're all grown up, but that's the only Rose I know. But I'm ranting, and I think Adam's waiting." She pointed to where Adam was standing, a discreet distance away. I hugged her once more before going over to Adam. We held hands and stared out at all the people we loved, who were still dancing.

My mother was in an adamant conversation with Adam's parents. Lissa was dancing with Christina, her arms wrapped around his neck. Tasha was talking with a guardian friend of mine, probably debating Moroi fighting, from the gestures they were both making. Eddie and Adrian were talking and laughing at the same time. Everyone looked so happy.

I turned back to Adam, and I knew he had seen the same thing. Once more, we kissed, and then walked out of the doors, into our future life together.

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There you have it. Thoguths? Feelings? I know, it's sad to see Adam leave and my version of Rose gone but life go's on. Blood Promise is out August 25, and if you haven't read the first chapter online yet, I have a link on my profile for it. Bye for now everyone!


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